Team,

Today marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 -- the date the world stood still and watched as terrorists assaulted our nation.

We lost countless innocent civilians and many more servicemembers as they fought to defend our nation in the aftermath. Today and always, we must honor those who lost their lives and remember the sacrifices our servicemembers made to protect our citizens, our values, and our security.

We must never forget the pain and loss we faced on this day, 20 years ago.

9/11 can also teach us a few lessons and give us a bit of hope.

First, while we rightly cement 9/11 into our nation’s history, we must also remember not to brush off acts of domestic terrorism -- such as the terrible events of 1/6.

Today, right-wing domestic terrorism is as much a threat as foreign adversaries -- and ignoring these forces is unacceptable -- we must speak up and take action to keep terrorist events like 1/6 from ever happening again.

Secondly, in the aftermath of 9/11, American patriotism and national unity skyrocketed. Americans came together and supported one another. We rose up from the ashes and fought back.

As we now face a new threat -- COVID-19 -- we must remember to once again protect one another and our nation by taking a few simple steps: get your vaccine, mask up, and stay outdoors or socially distanced when possible.

Together, I know we will persevere and overcome any obstacle more united than ever.

Never forget.

-- Mark